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Off the Bucket List: AFAA and PiYo Certification

There is so, so much I want to share about the last six months of studying, test-taking and holy-cow-sweating.

I want to tell you what it was like to prepare for and take the AFAA group fitness certification exam. And I want to tell you what I did right and wrong, and what you can learn if you’re interested in following in my footsteps.

I want to tell you why I decided to get certified in the PiYo Strength program from Beachbody, and what the heck PiYo is anyway, and show you a crazy PiYo push-up.

Because after years of talking about it and hemming and hawing and stalling, I am now an AFAA-certified fitness instructor who is also certified to teach PiYo.

Bucket list? Check. CHECK.

I’m crackalacking on those posts now, and would love to know what questions you have about the entire process. For now, I’m just thankful that my hard work paid off, and excited for the next adventure!

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About Katy

Katy Widrick is a television producer by day, and trains for triathlons at night. She writes about healthy living in a hectic world -- a balance between fitness and friendships, all built through social media. Subscribe to the feed for updates and follow @kwidrick on Twitter!

I’m so excited to read your experience about getting your AFAA cert! It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now, and I just need to DO IT. Questions: I’m concerned about my (lack of) rhythm… Will this hurt me? What was the hardest part about it? What are your tips as you’re studying and doing the practical?

That’s fantastic! Congratulations on all your hard work! It’s always such a remarkable feeling to check off items on the bucket list! I have no idea what PiYo is, so I guess that’s my first question. It all sounds interesting and fun! Well done!
~Bre

Awesome! I look forward to your posts. I’ve been considering a fitness certification, so I’ve been reading a lot about it and trying to decide how to move forward. (And this is the first I’ve heard of PiYo, so I’ve since been watching lots of YouTube videos to get a better idea of what it is. Seems really cool!)

I never even heard the word “PiYo” before this month, and yet so many people are getting certified to teach it!
I actually know a girl in this very pic who came from Tampa for the day’s class! Is it the new trend in fitness? I don’t exercise, so I’m not up-to-date on these things! I am confused though, because this is a one day training, yet my gf who is doing a yoga training is doing 200 hours and then another 200. How is this process able to be completed so quickly? I’m interested in attending one of your classes! When is the next one? I can’t seem to locate the post you did with that info. I think you’d be a great instructor and can’t wait to see you in action.

Ha! I just had really good timing, I guess — the woman who created the program, Chalene Johnson, is super well known in the fitness word but she JUST announced last week that she’s releasing an at-home version of PiYo Strength. I had no idea that was coming; I just happened to get my certification a few weeks before. Lucky me!

PiYo Strength’s training is a one-day session, and while you can teach it without further credentials, most gyms and studios will want you to have another training — AFAA (which I have), ACE, NASM, etc. Yoga training tends to be longer (200 hours, as you mentioned) but PiYo is not traditional yoga. It’s a pre-designed class, which means that all instructors teach the same program with the same songs, and the same moves. Yoga tends to be led completely by the instructor, with much more focus on the various postures and positions.

I’m teaching PiYo Strength at Dance Trance Orlando every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and I would love to see you there!